Two people in Matimba Sector, Nyagatare District, were arrested as they attempted to traffic a 19-year-old girl to Uganda.

The suspects, Nadia Ingabire, 30, and Theogene Mutabazi, 38, were stopped by Police officers at Kagitumba border post on Tuesday, together with the victim, whom they had allegedly coerced into traveling without informing her parents.

The suspects were by press time in detention at Matimba Police station as investigations continued, while the girl – a secondary school student – was set to be reunited with her family after undergoing medical examination and counseling services.

The Police Spokesperson for Eastern Region, Inspector of Police (IP) Emmanuel Kayigi, said preliminary investigations had revealed that Mutabazi intended to turn the victim into a house-wife.

The victim was connected to Mutabazi by Ingabire.

"The two suspects planned to help each other; Mutabazi would assist Ingabire to locate the whereabouts of her husband who had abandoned his family and left for Uganda, while she would, in turn, find him a woman to marry,” IP Kayigi said.

"The young girl was known to Ingabire; so she lured her to travel to Uganda without the consent of her parents or friends. But security personnel at the border post became suspecious and intercepted them. The parents have already been informed and they are much relieved that their daughter is safe.”

IP Kayigi noted that victims of human trafficking often do not know the dangers that await them ahead until they have crossed the border where they are forced into slavery activities like sexual exploitation and hard labour.

"Human trafficking is a modern-day slavery, victims are lured into believing that they are headed for good paying jobs but end up in a dark world where they are stripped of their basic freedoms and subjected to various forms of physical and mental abuse,” he noted.

"Police enjoys good border working relations with regional and international police institutions to fight such crimes and anyone with information of people that could be trapped in similar misery are urged to come out and report so that victims are rescued.”

RNP installed Interpol’s communication system called I-24/7 at all border posts, which allows law enforcement agencies in Interpol member-countries to share timely information on any human trafficking suspects or victims, as well as on other cross border crimes.

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